A strengthening rupee following a sharp surge in the inflow of foreign money from investors and "illegal imports" were among some of the reasons for the fall.
The second day of pre-Diwali Dhanteras witnessed a tepid response from shoppers on Friday as gold and silver sales have likely to be fallen by up to 35 per cent year-on-year due to high prices and COVID-19 induced financial distress, although consumers moved to online buying to make most of the festival, jewellers said. The buying was heavily restricted to light weight jewellery, coins and precious stones due to lower purchasing power and high gold rates, they said. Due to the fear of coronavirus infection, many customers who had booked in advance were taking delivery of wedding orders on Friday, while some were seen buying safely through online brands like Tanishq and Melorra.
Those selling ornaments with lower purity might now offer hefty discounts in order to get rid of non-hallmarked stocks
Festive demand for gold in India got off to a tepid start, with local prices still at a heavy discount to the global benchmark, a bad sign for a period when buying is typically strong.
According to jewellers and MMTC-PAMP India, gold demand has picked up in the wake of good monsoon and favourable price levels. There was positive response and more footfalls.
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